Rhodes + Krassner open the Balcony for their (drum roll please) Oscar Picks of 2012!!!

The pair of us did quite well with our movie-going this year, seeing many nominated films and allowing us to make educated picks in a year Katy thinks is terribly predictable. Nick doesn’t disagree, but is more than a little upset about the omission of what HE thinks was the best movie of the year. Read on….!

ORIGINAL SONG – “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” should and will win, Nick and Katy agree. And with only 2 nominated songs, there is a 50% chance we will be right! How can you argue? “Man or Muppet”

ORIGINAL SCORE – The score from “The Artist” will and should win, says Nick and Katy – though Nick pointed out that not all the music in “The Artist” was original. Darn that Nick, he is smart! [Best Original Score for “The Artist”]

COSTUME DESIGN – Nick mentioned that the Academy seems to vote for period dramas while the costumes in modern films get overlooked. This was the case, according to Nick, with Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In,” in one of many categories Nick feels it should have been nominated in (but was not). Nick thinks the momentum of “The Artist” will carry it to win this award but “Hugo” should win. Katy completely agrees. What’s up with all this agreeing??

VISUAL EFFECTS – A ha! We disagree! While both Katy and Nick would like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2” to win at least one award, Nick believes “Hugo” will win. Katy thinks “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” will win.

ART DIRECTION– Katy feels that “Hugo” will and should win this award. Nick thinks “The Artist” will win this category, but wouldn’t mind seeing “Hugo” or “War Horse” win it. Will “The Artist” remain unstoppable? Or will “War Horse,” which Nick feels has an extraordinary look to it, grab a win? In the end, Nick thinks “The Artist” should win.

CINEMATOGRAPHY – Katy and Nick both think “The Tree of Life” should win this award, just because the film was bonkers and visually stunning. Nick calls the film “strangely beautiful.” Katy thinks “Hugo” will take this Award home, albeit deservedly. Nick thinks “The Artist” WILL win.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Nick would love to see “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” win. It was nominated for a few BAFTAs but the Academy seems to have overlooked it somewhat. It was beautifully adapted for the screen, he feels, and the acting was terrific. Nick thinks “TTSS” should win something, so why not this? Katy thinks “The Descendants” will win this award and should win. Nick agrees that “The Descendants” will win, but doesn’t think it should.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Nick finds this to be a two-horse race between “The Artist” and “Midnight in Paris.” Somewhat ironically, Nick found both films to be Woody Allen-esque. Nick believes that among the screenplays, “The Artist” is in a class by itself. Since Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” was not nominated, Nick thinks “The Artist” will get the nod, though he was thrilled by “Midnight in Paris” getting nominated. It is his hope that it wins, as it is Woody at his best.

Katy is going with “The Artist” for will win and should win. The screenplay was very clever, and (spoiler alert!) all without words. She feels “The Artist” was so different and creative, and the screenplay must have been such a labor of love, she hopes it wins, and believes it will!

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Nick is on Strike! Why wasn’t Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” nominated??? Nick found out at a BAFTA party that Spain didn’t put this film forward as Best Foreign Language Film! Ergo, it couldn’t have been among the noms. SIGH. However, both Nick and Katy have chosen “A Separation” from Iran as their should and will win. It has had an enormous impact, world-wide, and deserves the prize.

ANIMATED FEATURE – Katy thinks “Rango” will win and Nick agrees! We both think the “Shrek” spin off, “Puss in Boots” should win. It was really adorable and Antonio Banderas is the voice of “Puss”!

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Nick and Katy both think “Senna” should have been nominated (this was also John’s pick for Best Movie on his Year End Katy’s Kafe). It wasn’t. UGH. Nick is abstaining from picking a winner since he hasn’t seen any of the films. Since Katy followed the news on the West Memphis 3, she is hoping “Paradise Lost 3” wins but has no clue about the other films. #Documentaryfail

– Octavia Spencer, you know you’re going to win for your performance in “The Help”! Both Nick and Katy feel like she has this award all but locked up. There is an enormous amount of support for her performance, and it was definitely a good one (but maybe not the best one of the year).Bérénice Bejo, for her terrific turn in “The Artist,” should win, according to Mssr Rhodes and Madame Krassner.

– Katy was very disappointed in this category. She doesn’t think any of the nominees are deserving except maybe Kenneth Branagh for “My Week with Marilyn.” Katy thinks Christopher Plummer will win for “Beginners,” which she enjoyed but didn’t feel was an Oscar performance. If anything, she felt Ewan McGregor was stronger in the same film. Nick would love to see Max Von Sydow win an Oscar, even if it is for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” but it seems very unlikely. Nick would also support a win for Kenneth Branagh for “My Week with Marilyn,” but it looks like C.P is gonna get it no matter what.

– A huge fan of Michelle Williams, Nick would love to see her win for her bravura performance in “My Week with Marilyn.” Since she won’t win, Nick thinks Meryl Streep WILL win for “The Iron Lady.” No way Jose, Katy STRONGLY feels that Viola Davis should and will win for her amazing acting job in “The Help.” There! We disagree!!

– Jean Dujardin should win for “The Artist” according to Nick – especially if Gary Oldman doesn’t have much of a chance with “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” which is a shame since he is one of Nick’s favorite actors, and he loved Gary’s performance. Also, Nick is bummed no nom for Antonio Banderas in “The Skin I Live In” (sense a pattern?) Katy thinks Jean should win but so should George Clooney for “The Descendants,” as she found George’s performance to be a revelation. Katy thinks Clooney will win though, and is quite happy with that. Not Nick. He is sticking with Jean for “The Artist.”

BEST DIRECTOR
The Nominees:
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

– Nick is a fan of all things Scorcese, and loves nearly all of his films, but doesn’t think he will win Best Director for “Hugo,”even though it was a wonderful change of pace from what Marty usually does. Both Katy and Nick agree that the Best Director award should go to Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist.” And while winning Best Director doesn’t always equal Best Film, in this case….

BEST PICTURE
The Nominees:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

– Since Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” is not, shockingly, one of the nine nominated films, Nick thinks “The Artist” should win and will win. Katy agrees: “The Artist” is all the things a Best Picture SHOULD be. She wouldn’t be totally surprised if there was a last minute surge from “The Help,” but knows she can sleep at night with “The Artist” having taken the honour (unlike all those sleepless nights after “The Blind Side” won). “The Artist” was a fantastic film and is much deserving of a Best Picture Oscar.

And so it goes, another Oscar Season for Rhodes + Krassner. The 84th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday evening – good luck to all the nominees! Watch out for some Oscar night tweets (and maybe some input from Nick) at @askkatybook on Twitter.